Calendar

Health Journalism 2012: Program

Thursday

Time

Event/Panel

Location

6:30-8:30 a.m.

Sunrise WorkshopGroup run/walk and idea session

Wake up early and gather at 6:30 for an easy-paced run or walk with 1972 Olympic runner Jeff Galloway. We’ll depart from the hotel on foot. This isn’t a competition – runners and walkers are welcome. The run/walk will follow a downtown route you can easily tailor for your own pace, time and distance. Return to the hotel on foot for a light post-run snack and chat with Galloway.

There was limited space available for this event and all slots have been filled.

Galloway conducts training programs across North America, has authored or co-authored more than 20 books about running or walking, and is a Runner’s World columnist. He’ll draw from these experiences and observations to discuss stories, ideas and resources for journalists who write about health and fitness.

Participants should have time to shower and change to before the rest of the day’s hotel-based workshops.

Georgia 2

8 a.m.

Field trip buses depart

This year's field trips include opportunities to experience virtual reality therapy, learn about biosafety training in a laboratory, meet with researchers, visit the CDC’s Emergency Operations Center, labs that deal with foodborne illnesses and infectious viruses and diseases, observe pediatric heart procedures, go on rounds of neonatal intensive care unit, take part in a live broadcast for hospitalized children, learn about life after cancer and more. Read more about the field trips.

NOTE: There are no more spots available for the field trips. If you sign up for field trips, you will be placed on a waiting list.

Workshops

Two workshop tracks on Thursday will offer training in critical skills for journalists. Follow one track, and you’ll end up with essential knowledge to assess medical evidence in your reporting, better grasp of the intricacies of FOI laws, and expert advice to find local stories in just-updated life expectancy data. Come aboard another track, and you’ll gain more confidence in using high-tech tools in demand for journalists. Sessions will offer tips to improve your use of video, upgrade your social media vehicle, master the more advanced Google tools, blend reporting with tech skills for telling new stories, and looking at journalism as an all-platform proposition. Or cross tracks to tailor your own day of learning!

Track 1

10 a.m.-noon

Evaluating medical evidence for journalists

Learn how to uncover the flaws in published medical research – essential knowledge for journalists charged with evaluating the quality of evidence and the potential tradeoffs between benefits and harms.

Public records are at the core of some of the most influential health journalism of recent years. This nuts-and-bolts workshop will show you how it’s done. You will learn when and how to file requests under state and federal Freedom of Information laws, what you can do to make those requests successful, what pitfalls to avoid, where to turn for help and what options you have when responses are slow or inadequate. You will develop ideas for stories drawn from FOI requests on your own beat. And you’ll leave jazzed about making public records a regular part of your reporting.

Explore trends in life expectancy for men and women as the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation releases the only county-by-county assessment of life spans in the United States. Conference attendees will have an exclusive first look at which counties are living longest and which are falling behind. They will be able to take the data, maps and graphics to write stories about their own communities.

• Instructor: Ali Mokdad, Ph.D., professor of global health, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington

Track 2(Track 2 is sponsored by the University of Georgia)

10-11 a.m.

Video the right way

You have gear and know how to use it, but how do different stories engage users? Participants will see examples, weigh the pros and cons of five types of video stories, and determine whether they work better as stand-alone pieces or part of a package.

• Instructor: Mark Johnson, senior lecturer, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia

Atlanta 1, 2, 3

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Give them something to talk about

You know how to use Twitter and other social media, but are you and your work at the center of the online conversation? Learn to use digital tools and emerging technology to get everyone talking.

• Matt Thompson, editorial product manager, NPR

12:15-12:45 p.m.

Lunch

12:45-1:45 p.m.

Google tools for health reporters

An insider’s guide to Google tools that will help health journalists search for information more efficiently, quantify trends, add visuals to their stories, and increase audience engagement.

When does a reporter need to look for data-savvy experts to analyze data and frame questions to get the best stories out of large datasets? Lance Williams will use his recent experience working with precision journalism expert Steve Doig and reporters Christina Jewett and Monica Lam to ferret out shoddy and costly Medicare billing by a Southern California hospital chain to demonstrate when and how to work with experts in data analysis.

In an era of “hyperconnectivity” storytelling has taken on new form. It’s dynamic, social and highly interactive. Unlike “campfire stories,” modern narrative involves immersive, multi-way experiences that draw a person deeper into a story, compelling them to participate, share and act. It’s the kind of “engaged” experience savvy audiences crave. Journalists today wrestle with shifting priorities, convergence of technology and newsroom roles. Learn about the art, science and importance of a modern story and get tips for keeping up with the important industry trends.

• Instructor: Victor Hernandez, news futurist, CNN Worldwide

4:30-5:15 p.m.

Newcomers' welcome

New members and first-time attendees are encouraged to drop in for a primer on making the most of the conference and how making AHCJ your professional home can pay off for years.

Atlanta 1, 2, 3

5:30-7 p.m.

Kickoff session: A conversation with President and Mrs. Carter

Former President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter will sit down with Health Journalism 2012 attendees at the conference’s kickoff session on April 19 to discuss issues in global health and mental health, and efforts under way at The Carter Center to address both. The Carters founded The Carter Center in 1982 in Atlanta to advance peace and health around the world.

Capitol Center/South

7 p.m.

Welcome to Atlanta Reception

Take advantage of this casual opportunity to greet and catch up with your fellow health care journalists.

Editors from magazines, newspapers, websites are coming to meet AHCJ's freelance members! This session has been created to give you an opportunity to sit down and discuss your ideas one-on-one with editors from selected outlets. Bring your best ideas and be prepared to sell your work. You will be able to sign up for appointments online in advance and some appointments will be reserved for on-site registration.

There are important stories. There are stories with great sound and pictures. Broadcasters seek to have each story be both. Join us to examine some of the important topics covered by panels earlier in the program. Experienced local and network reporters and editors will help discover audio and video elements and angles that will make engaging segments for television, radio or multimedia web and mobile sites. A session also will be offered on Saturday.

Brawley, responsible for promoting the goals of cancer prevention, early detection and quality treatment, champions efforts to decrease smoking, improve diet and provide the critical support cancer patients need. He guides efforts to enhance and focus the research program, upgrade the Society’s advocacy capacity, and concentrate community cancer control efforts in areas where they will be most effective. He is a leader in the Society’s work to eliminate disparities in access to quality cancer care.

There are important stories. There are stories with great sound and pictures. Broadcasters seek to have each story be both. Join us to examine some of the important topics covered by panels earlier in the program. Experienced local and network reporters and editors will help discover audio and video elements and angles that will make engaging segments for television, radio or multimedia web and mobile sites. A session also will be offered on Friday.